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period. It was, at least in part, the result of a reaction against the fires of passion which had blazed in the late Renaissance, especially in the metaphysical poetry. It found its artistic models in the classical literature of the ancient Greek and Roman writers like Homer, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, etc. and in the contemporary French writers such as Voltaire and Diderot. It put the stress on the classical artistic ideals of order, logic, proportion, restrained emotion, accuracy, good taste and decorum.
Such elegant styles were found in almost all the writings of the period, especially in those of John Dryden, Alexander Pope，Jonathan Swift, Joseph Addison, Richard Steele, Henry Fielding, Samuel Johnson, Oliver Goldsmith, Edward Gibbon , the man who wrote the famous history The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire(1776―1788) , and other neoclassicist writers. They were careful imitators. Their approach was thoroughly
professional. Their works, mostly refined and perfect, are conscientious craftsmanship and often highly didactic. Neoclassical poetry , as represented by Dryden, Pope, and Johnson, reached its stylistic perfection during the period, although to the modem readers it seems to lack in imagination and energy. The neoclassical poetry is one of the most significant phenomena in the literature of the age, to which it has given its name.
Sonnet a lyric poem comprising 14 rhyming lines of equal length:iambic pentameters in English,alexandrines in French,hendecasyllables in ltalian. The rhyme schemes of the sonnet follow two basic patterns.
①The Italian sonnet (also called the Petrarchan sonnet after the most influential of the Italian sonneteers) comprises an 8-line ‘octave’of two quatrains,rhymed abbaabba, followed by a 6-line ‘sestet’ usually rhymed
cdecde or cdcdcd. The transition from octave to sestet usually coincides with a ‘turn’ ( ltalian,volta )in the
argument or mood of the poem. In a variant form used by the English poet John Milton,however, the ‘turn’ is delayed to a later position around the tenth line.Some later poets----notably William Wordsworth----have employed this feature of the ‘Miltonic sonnet’while relaxing the rhyme scheme of the octave to abbaacca . The Italian pattern has remained the most widely used in English and other languages.
②The English sonnet (also called the Shakespearean sonnet after its foremost practitioner) comprises three
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quatrains and a final couplet,rhyming ababcdcdefefgg.An important variant of this is the Spenserian sonnet (introduced by the Elizabethan poet Edmund Spenser),which links the three quatrains by rhyme,in the sequence
ababbabccdcdee.In either form,the ‘turn’comes with the final couplet,which may sometimes achieve the neatness
of an epigram.
Heroic couplet a rhymed pair of iambic pentameter lines:
Let Observation with extensive View
Survey Mankind, from China to Peru (Johnson)
Named from its use by Dryden and others in the heroic drama of the late 17th century,the heroic couplet had been established much earlier by Chaucer as a major English verse-form for narrative and other kinds of non-dramatic portry: it dominated English poetry of the 18th century,notably in the couplets of Pope,before declining in importance in the early 19th century.
Critical Realism Critical realism is one of the literary genres that flourished mainly in the 19th century. It reveals the corrupting influence of the rule of cash upon human nature. Here lies the essentially democratic and humanistic character of critical realism. The English critical realists of the 19th century not only gave a satirical portrayal of the bourgeoisie and all the ruling classes, but also showed profound sympathy for the common people. In their best works, they used humor and satire to contrast the greed and hypocrisy of the upper classes with the honesty and good-heartedness of the obscure “simple people” of the lower classes. Humorous scenes set off the actions of the positive characters, and the humor is often tinged with a lyricism which serves to stress the fine qualities of such characters. At the same time,bitter satire and grotesque is used to expose the seamy side of the bourgeois society. The critical realists, however, did not find a way to eradicate the social evils they knew so well. They did not realize the necessity of changing the bourgeois society through conscious human effort. Their works do not point toward revolution but rather evolution or reformism. They often start with a powerful exposure of the ugliness of the bourgeois world in their works, but their novels usually have happy endings or an impotent
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compromise at the end. Here are the strength and weakness of critical realism.
Romanticism The term refers to the literary and artistic movements of the late 18th and early 19th century. Romanticism rejected the earlier philosophy of the Enlightenment, which stressed that logic and reason were the best response humans had in the face of cruelty, stupidity, superstition, and barbarism. Instead ,the Romantics asserted that reliance upon emotion and natural passions provided a valid and powerful means of knowing and a reliable guide to ethics and living.The Romantic movement typically asserts the unique nature of the individual, the privileged status of imagination and fancy, the value of spontaneity over “artifice” and “convention”, the human need for emotional outlets, the rejection of civilized corruption, and a desire to return to natural primitivism and escape the spiritual destruction of urban life Their writings are often set in rural, or Gothic settings and they show an obsessive concern with “innocent” characters----children, young lovers, and animals. The major Romantic poets included William Blake, William Wordsworth, John Keats , Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Lord Gordon Byron. Renaissance The word “renaissance” means rebirth or revival. It is commonly applied to the movement or period in western civilization , which marks the transition from the medieval to the modern world . It sprang up first in Italy in the 14th century and gradually spread all over Europe, the date differing for different countries. The Renaissance indicates a revival of classical (Greek and Roman) arts and sciences after the dark ages of medieval obscurantism. The study and propagation of classical learning and art was carried on by the progressive thinkers of the humanists. They held their chief interest not in ecclesiastical knowledge, but in man, his environment and doings and his brave fight for the emancipation of man from the tyranny of the church and religious dogmas. Because in the ancient Greek and Roman mythology were found the ideas of universal love, respect to human beings and approval of man’s power, ability and knowledge. And at the same time worldly enjoyment on the earth was affirmed. In short, man became the center of the world instead of God as upheld in the Middle Ages. The Renaissance Movement is a great revolution carried out in the fourteenth to the mid-seventeenth century Europe. It broke the chain and bondage of feudal and theological ties and brought human wisdom and capacity into full play.
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Humanism Broadly, this term suggests any attitude which tends to exalt the human element or stress the importance of human interests, as opposed to the supernatural , divine elements ---or as opposed to the grosser, animal elements.In a more specific sense, humanism suggests a devotion to those studies supposed to promote human culture most effectively----in particular, those dealing with the life,thought, language, and literature of ancient Greece and Rome. It proclaimed that man is the most important noble creature in the world; the goal of life is to enjoy oneself in this present world instead of afterlife. According to the humanists ; both man and world are hindered by external checks from infinite improvement. Man could mould the world according to his desires, and attain happiness by removing all external checks by the exercise of reason. In literary history the most important use of the term is to designate the revival of classical culture which accompanied the Renaissance. Epic An epic is a long oral narrative poem that operates on a grand scale and deals with legendary or historical events of national or universal significance .Most epics deal with the exploits of a single individual and also interlace the main narrative with myths, legends, folk tales and past events; there is a composite effect, the entire culture of a country cohering in the overall experience of the poem . Epic poems are not merely entertaining stories of legendary or historical heroes; they summarize and express the nature or ideals of an entire nation at a significant or crucial period of its
Ballad In more exact literary terminology, a ballad is a narrative poem consisting of quatrains of iambic tetrameter alternating with iambic trimeter. Common traits of the ballad are that(a) the beginning is often abrupt ,(b) the story is told through dialogue and action (c) the language is simple or “folksy,” (d) the theme is often tragic---though comic ballads do exist, (e) the ballad contains a refrain repeated several times. The ballad became popular in England in the late 14th century and was adopted by many writers. One of the most important anthologies of ballads is F. J. Child’ s The English and Scottish Popular Ballads.
Stream of Consciousness (psychol organized by William James) individual conscious experience regarded as continuously moving forward in time in an uneven flow. In creative writing the interior monologue makes use of
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this to reveal character and comment on life.
Classism refers to a movement or tendency in art, literature, or music that reflects the principles manifested in the art of ancient Greece and Rome. Classicism emphasizes the traditional and the universal, and places value on reason, clarity, balance, and order. Classicism, with its concern for reason and universal themes, is traditionally opposed to Romanticism, which is concerned with emotions and personal themes.
Theme: the central idea or statement about life that unifies and controls the total work Identifying the theme ? To avoid confusing a work’s theme with its subject or situation. ? The statement of theme does the work full justice. ? It is fully and completely supported by the work’s other elements. ? The title of the work often suggests a particular focus or emphasis for the reader’s attention.
Plot: The action in fiction, the arrangement of events that make up a story. ? Plots turn on a conflict, or struggle between opposing forces, i.e. how one action leads into another. ? Structure is the design or form of the action, i.e. patterns and the shape of content. ?The classic pattern: exposition, complication, crisis, falling action, and resolution
Character：Characters are imaginary people that writers create. ?Concerned with being able to establish the personalities of the characters and to identify their intellectual, emotional, and moral qualities. ?Concerned with the techniques to create and develop characters. ?Concerned with whether the characters are credible and convincin
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英国文学简史期末考试复习要点_刘炳善版(海师)
